After reading the article, I'm wondering what exactly he violated, other than "New Castle County does not give permits to residents to keep exotic pets on less than an acre of land."

At first the article says "Although the animals were well cared for, the 13 exotic pets were confiscated because it is illegal to own them in New Castle County, said SPCA Director John Caldwell." After that, it says the county doesn't give permits to residents to keep exotic pets on less than an acre. I'm guessing the latter one is true.

I have no idea if venomous snakes are illegal to keep in NJ though. Apparently they didn't take snapping turtle or his other "small domestic animals", which weren't illegal.